Teacher lauded for shielding kids when intruder burst in

Robyn Clemente, 41, a teacher at Nicolas Junior High School in Fullerton, led her students to safety after an unarmed man exhibiting erratic behavior entered her classroom on the morning of Sept. 25. Clemente was able to calmly move her students and herself out of the room. Fullerton police responded and arrested the man in the parking lot.LEONARD ORTIZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Robyn Clemente

Years in the classroom: 12 at Nicolas Junior High School; 18 years total

Quote: "They are family," Clemente said about her students. "They trusted me and I trusted them that we were going to get out and we were going to be safe."

Source: Robyn Clemente

FULLERTON – A middle-school teacher has been credited with protecting her students after a man, bleeding and believed to be under the influence of drugs, burst into her classroom and ordered everyone to the floor.

Robyn Clemente, 41, was about to start teaching language arts to her eighth-graders one morning last month when a man, acting erratically and bleeding from one hand, walked in, pushed a girl to the floor and told everyone to get down.

Clemente was honored for her actions by school officials and police Tuesday night.

“First I thought there was a shooter outside … but then when I realized he was the danger, my thought was ‘get the kids out,’ ” Clemente said in an interview after the incident.

The veteran teacher managed to call the main office as the man paced back and forth in her portable classroom.

“He was agitated, he was sweaty, he was breathing hard and the more movement I made, he was getting more agitated,” Clemente said. “I just decided to get the kids to move, so I figured I’d distract him and I started talking to him,” she said.

Clemente says she motioned to her students to line up against the wall as she walked by their desks. The eighth-graders began lining up little by little, but the man was holding a boy down by his leg.

“I walked over and talked to him again to distract him and as soon as the student was free, then I just told the kids to run, run, run!” Clemente said. “I ran so fast and just pushed any kid that wasn’t moving to make sure they got out the door.”

THROWING FURNITURE

That’s when the man became extremely upset and began throwing furniture around, she said, but Clemente and her 34 students escaped unharmed.

Clemente estimated the ordeal lasted about four minutes.

By this time, around 9 a.m. Sept. 25, school staff had called police to report that a man had walked into a classroom full of students and their teacher and the school was locked down.

Officers arrived within one minute of being dispatched and detained Aaron Michael Bennett, 24, of Placentia, as he was running across the parking lot, said Sgt. Jeff Stuart of the Fullerton Police Department, adding that Bennett offered no explanation for his actions.

Bennett, who was believed to be under the influence of bath salts or spice, a type of synthetic marijuana, is being held at Men’s Central Jail in lieu of $500,000.

Bennett has been charged with felony false imprisonment, felony vandalism and misdemeanor counts of battery on school grounds, child abuse and endangerment, disruptive presence at school, battery and being under the influence, according to the criminal complaint. He pleaded not guilty to all counts and is expected to return to court Oct. 21, court records show.

Robyn Clemente, 41, a teacher at Nicolas Junior High School in Fullerton, led her students to safety after an unarmed man exhibiting erratic behavior entered her classroom on the morning of Sept. 25. Clemente was able to calmly move her students and herself out of the room. Fullerton police responded and arrested the man in the parking lot. LEONARD ORTIZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
An man exhibiting erratic behavior walked onto the unfenced school grounds, right, of Nicolas Junior High School in Fullerton and entered the classroom, left, of teacher Robyn Clemente. LEONARD ORTIZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Robyn Clemente, 41, a teacher at Nicolas Junior High School in Fullerton, led her students to safety after a man entered her classroom. LEONARD ORTIZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Aaron Michael Bennett, 24, of Placentia. COURTESY FULLERTON POLICE DEPARTMENT

1 of

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.